Hot Sauce Williams Barbecue Restaurant

Though I would love love loooove to give HSW a five star rating, if only for its legendary status, I can and will not. This particular location is filthy and if I had known that before calling to place an order I would have thought twice. I had to peel my shoes from the floor with each step I took towards the service counter and it grossed me out to no end.
All in all, I will not be returning unless some changes are made. The three stars I give HSW are for the massive portion of crunchy fried okra (I’m a country girl at heart), and the friendly yet professional demeanor of the ladies behind the service counter. The service I received at HSW is its saving grace.

You can’t place a phone order after 5 pm. You have to go there and sit forever waiting on your order. I’ve decided to just go to B&M’s.

This place was pretty good. The food came very fast. Almost seemed like fast food. I ordered the polish boy. I haven’t had one since I was a kid. Brings back a lot of memories.

Came in for a polish boy and girl, wings, and fries. Took almost 30 mins for the order to be ready. I wasn’t impressed with my meal. There was no pork shoulder meat on the polish girl. The wings were ok but the sauce was off. Didn’t taste the same. While waiting for my food there were a lot of flies inside which made me weary. There were even a lot of dead flies on the ground. I’m a fan of whole in the wall spots to eat but this was a disappointment. At least the area to wait for food can look and be more clean.

Really good fried chicken and ribs but the polish boy is the best.
Service seems fine to me.
No inside seating.

Was in the mood for BBQ and decided to go here because of the proximity to my house and the fact that they have been around forever. Worst idea ever. The pulled pork sandwich was disgusting. I took two bites and fed the rest to my dog. Rightfully so seeing as it tasted like dog food. The sandwich was overpriced. I was hoping for a side but they had no variety. The place looked like they need some serious updates to the inside and to their menu. I wouldn’t recommend it and will never go back. There’s too many other restaurants on Lee that deserve my money.

Gross! I could make ribs better at home. The ribs are super dry yet covered in a layer of fat. The sauce is good, just enough spice with a little kick. The fried chicken is awful. The breading is so saturated in grease that the breading nor the chicken have any flavor but grease. The cole slaw taste like bargain tub at any off price grocery store. The fries are under cooked/​possibly microwaved. So over rated. Cash only.

I’ve been coming here for at least 20 years now and I am pretty sure they haven’t attempted to fill in the potholepalooza that is their parking lot. The store is still the same old eyesore it has always been.
Service I had was wonderful and friendly. Properly made ribs are not fall off the bone, but from reading other reviews I see that many think this. Competition ribs off resistance to a bite and this is what type of ribs these are. Sadly there is no discernible smoke ring. That cost them what would have been 5 stars. Sauce is just as good as it always has been, sweet with a hint of heat. Fried chicken and wings are always great. Fries are meh. Coleslaw is good.
That I am willing to drive across the city to get food from here says a lot.

This is rated way to low, a true Cleveland Classic.
The fried chicken was amazing, when you have a cheat day or you want to indulge without remorse grab a few pieces here. Really good and not greasy.
The sides I always get are the Mac n cheese, rich and cheesy. Then my other fav are the greens, they have a lot of flavor.
I had several desert items here and you can’t go wrong they are all good eats.
Overall great soul food restaurant that will keep you coming back!

I have lived about a mile from this place for most of my life and have eaten here a lot.
I really want this place to be a hidden gem, but it isn’t. I could get by the dirty interior, rude service, and long wait times if the food was something special.
But the food is nothing special. The sides are often cold a bland, the fried chicken is what you get at the prepared food section of a grocery store, and the ribs are tough. The sauce is like sugared ketchup — there is nothing «hot» about the place.

I’ve had food from this restaurant numerous times throughout my life in Cleveland. Hell, it’s one of our notable eateries. We used to get this food days prior to Christmas so we can feast that day. This will mark the 3^rd year that we haven’t done it. And here’s why:
I understand that over time, things change but Hot Sauce Williams changed for the worst. The meat has gotten to the point where it’s either underdone or overcooked. The sauce is absolutely putrid. It was good until they decided to bottle their sauce and gotten too lazy to actually make it, they just use the bottled stuff. Every bottled sauce is largely watered down and makes food taste horrible. You’re best off making a decent sauce from scratch, experimenting and let flavors soak in.
The service has gotten worse and so has to people there. Why hasn’t the health department stepped in, I don’t know but I literally feel the need to bathe by just looking at the building. The people are very rude, spewing out offensive and unacceptable language at a restaurant and give you an attitude when you try to correct their mistakes.
All I can say is there goes the neighborhood in terms of barbecue. Very disappointed to what they have become and the quality of their food. Just save your money, buy your own meat and barbecue yourself. You’ll be saving more money and gain more food and more satisfaction to your own culinary talents.

The food is excellent, the service is not so excellent. But its take out so you only have to deal with it for a few minutes.

This place is a hidden gem for sure. I’m always willing to drive out here for a polish boy or short ribs. I’m not a fan of coleslaw, but theirs is top notch! They give you white bread with your ribs– my friend who lived in the south was very naustalgic about this. Great place, always get your fries with sauce!
It is NOT cash only– you just need to have an ID and be the person the card belongs to

Had another Cleveland first the other night at Hot Sauce Williams, the Polish boy! Dag, soooo good! The sauce is the boss here too, and I’m totally gonna buy a bottle of it next time I stop in. It was a Monday night around 9pm, but they still had a security guard sitting at a table near the entrance. Not sure what they were expecting to go down, but along with the sign on the front door requiring anyone wearing a hood to pull it back before entering, didn’t sound like it was anything pleasant. The larger old woman sitting behind the counter was probably scratching her head as to why I was there, but was delightful nonetheless, continuing her singing after I’d placed my order. Can’t wait to get, like, 5 more!

CASH ONLY! Just had to throw that in right off the bat.
Since every single other review has been for the original location, I thought I’d give the East side some love. While I didn’t have the sass the other people have had with the staff I chalk that up to being Southern, as there’s something about a Southern boy saying «please» and «ma’am» that tends to quell the uppity types.
So being said that I’m a Southerner, life is rough in Cleveland when it comes to getting solid southern style BBQ. Now make no mistake, HSW is no Memphis rib joint but in a pinch and devoid as I am of options up here it made a pretty decent substitute. Sure they’ve got all the southern staples — ribs, chicken, catfish, pork — but there was just something missing.
My buddy and I each opted for the Pork Shoulder sandwich — a large scoop of shredded pork with their traditional HSW sauce, a scoop of cole slaw, and all encased between 2 pieces of white bread. That last bit was a nice touch — everybody Southern knows the value of white bread in BBQ. What made me happiest was seeing 2 things on the menu I wasn’t expecting: fried okra and peach cobbler. Both were pretty tasty, but one order of the okra is enough for a few people to share as they give you a ton of the little guys.
They don’t take cards, cash only, and expect to wait 10 – 15 minutes for your food to pop up once you’ve ordered. There are no fountain drinks — only a couple of Coke machines so if you’re dining in make sure you’ve got some extra cash for those.
I’ve had considerably better BBQ, but not in Cleveland.

This is a spot for after a night of clubbing. It will be packed with people ordering wings and polish boys. A polish boy is a polish sausage topped with french fries and cole slaw and bar-​b-​que sauce. Wings are served with sauce too. You can also get fish and ribs. It is pretty cheap. The women who take the orders are smart alecs who can handle the varied crowd that they service nightly. Everything is carry out so call your order in if you can.